Henry Grimble






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Flying Officer R196057 Unit 433 SQDN (Overseas)




Service Personnel Information

  • Name: Henry Grimble
  • Service Regimental Number: R196057
  • Rank: Private/Flying Officer
  • Height/weight: 5'10"/ 141lbs
  • Colour of eyes: Brown
  • Marital status: Single
  • Religion: Church of England
  • Address: 167 Oakdean Blvd. Sturgeon Creek
  • Next of Kin (and relationship): Florence Grimble (Mother)
  • Date of enlistment: September 12, 1942
  • City and province of enlistment: Winnipeg, Manitoba

Essay


Henry Grimble
Henry Grimble and was born in Edmonton, Alberta. He had brown eyes and brown hair and wore glasses. His family moved to Manitoba where he lived at 167 Oakdean Blvd. Henry Grimble eventually went to St. Paul’s College. Henry Grimble then left St. Paul’s College after his Grade 11 year to help fight in the war, where he enlisted to join the Air Force on September 11, 1942. Upon joining the war Henry was 5’10” and weighed 141lbs.
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Henry Grimble



Life at Home
Henry Grimble had a mother and father throughout his life, as well as 2 brothers and 4 sisters. Henry Grimble was one of the middle children and therefore it seemed as if he was treated no better or worse than the others. It seems as if Henry and his mother Florence might have had a good relationship as she was chosen to be “Next in Kin” rather than his father, which occurred often among the other war veterans. From the information about Henry’s life there was no sign of girlfriend or wife at the time of enlistment, as well as no children.

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167 Oakdean Blvd.


School Life
Henry Grimble enrolled in St. Paul’s College and finally in Grade 11, Henry dropped out to join the army. One of Henry’s main references was Father Holland, a priest at St. Paul’s College. This shows that Henry was not just an 8:45-3:15 student. He must have done other activities with the school after hours to form a connection with Father Holland. Outside of school, Henry participated in sports such as swimming and tennis. Not only was Henry playing sports and going to school, but also he had a job for 2 years prior to leaving for war, around Grade 9-10, as a teller at a bank. Henry was a hard worker, athletic, and smart student during his high school years.


His time with the Air Force
Henry Grimble was part of the Air Force but further part of No. 433 Squadron. Henry was a flying officer and a navigator for the Air Force. Henry chose the Air Force because he was “keen to fly” said one of his references. During the war, Henry never gave up the activities he had passion for and continued to participate in swimming and tennis throughout his time with the Air Force. During Henry’s time in the Air Force, he worked out of Northern Ontario were he would take off to accomplish missions overseas in Germany. Henry’s main source of weaponry in the war was the Handley-Page Halifax, which is a heavy bomber. This plane was manufactured by the English and could seat seven men or women. It had four 1615hp engines and a maximum speed of 454km/h, which was plenty enough to get the job done.
Handley-Page Halifax
Handley-Page Halifax



Death
Henry was of age 20 when he was presumed dead, on August 14, 1944. On August 14, 1944 many other things were taking place in Canada from job listings to 7,000,000 gallons in gas coupons seized all the way to a women being gassed and a man saving her. He was then buried in Kiel War Cemetery located in Schleswig-Holstein Germany. His grave reference is 4. G. 2. Henry received a numerous amount of medals and stars throughout his time with the Air Force. These are just some; C.V.S.M, 39-45 Star, Defense Medal, and the General Service Medal. These metals shows how such a young man in the army can make a difference in the world and how he helped fight for the safe lives we live today. Henry’s body was eventually found on shore and he was pronounced dead.

Military Service Record


  • Age (at death): 20
  • Force: Air Force
  • Unit: 433 SQDN (Overseas)


433 SQDN Logo
433 SQDN Logo


  • Service Number: R196057
  • Honours and Awards: 39-45 Star, Fr. + Ger. Star, Defence Medal, Gen. Ser. Medal, C.V.S.M

39-45_star.jpg
39-45 Star
Defence Medal
Defence Medal
General Service Medal
General Service Medal


  • Photograph: Yes
  • Next of Kin (and relationship): Florence Grimble (Mother)
  • Date of Death: August 14, 1944
  • Country of Burial: Germany
  • Cemetery: Kiel War Cemetery
  • Grave Reference: 4. G. 2
  • Location: Schleswig-Holstein
  • Book of Remembrance: Pg. 322

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Book of Remembrance: Pg. 322


Grave Reference

Kiel War Cemetery
Kiel War Cemetery


  • Name of Cemetery: Kiel War Cemetery
  • Grave Reference: 4. G.2


Works Cited


  • "The Second World War - 1944." Veteran Affairs Canada . Veteran Affairs Canada,
    11 Oct. 2011. Web. 7 May 2012. <http://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/
    collections/books/bww2/page1944#H>. This site is very good. It provided
    me with the page that my War Veterans name is on in the Book of Remembrance

  • "Canadian Wings." Canadian Wings. AEROWAREdesigns, 2010. Web. 7 May 2012.
    <http://www.canadianwings.com/Squadrons/index.php>. This website is
    very good for info on the squads. It provided me with info about his squad,
    a logo, and info about the planes used. Not only was it good for the squad
    but it had a individual section for the aircraft used.

  • "Casualty Details." Commonwealth War Grave Commission . N.p., n.d. Web. 1 May
    2012. <http://www.cwgc.org/search-for-war-dead/casualty/2356439/
    GRIMBLE,%20HENRY>. This site has all the grave references for everyone
    or almost everyone in World War 1 & 2. I used it to find out where my
    veteran was buried and where he died.

  • School Record of Henry Grimble. Print. School Record of Henry Grimble. This is
    the info, that the school Henry Grimble went to, has about his time in the
    war and before the war.

  • "The Winnipeg Evening Tribune ." Manitobia . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 May 2012.
    <http://manitobia.ca/content/en/newspapers/WPT/1944/09/05/articles/152.xml/
    iarchives>. This provided me with a picture of my war veteran as well as
    a little bit of info about him going missing.

  • The Royal Canadian Regiment . The Regiment Warehouse, 2012. Web. 5 May 2012.
    <http://theroyalcanadianregiment.ca/warehouse/>. This website
    provided me with the pictures of the medals my war veteran received. It is
    pretty good, has most of the medals but not all.